SS100: 100 Drabbles for 100 years of Arthur Newton - Sa13+

[Jessiqua]

89. Past
April 1, 2054
Aged: 25 years

"Happy Birthday Art," 8 voices sang around the table.
"Twenty Five. Quarter of a Century, man. You're oooooold," said Samuel, the baby of the family. Who was, currently, 22-years-old.
Art chuckled as he spooned cake into his mouth.
"My, only 25 years since we first met you," said a tearful Melissa.
"Our son, all grown up," followed Orville.
"I-I've been all grown up f-for years," Art said.
"Yeah, you're right old," said Samuel, mouth full of cake.
"You grew from such a sweet little boy to a successful, mature young man, darling."
"They're reminiscing on the past already, old man."

[Jessiqua]

29. Pensieve
September 18, 2055
Aged: 26 years, 5 months

Heading into his fourth and final year of his Healing Studies meant he would soon be learning the more complex Wizarding diseases, cures, and brewing some of the most difficult potions. His mind was constantly buzzing. During his practice brews he was starting to mess up the potions. He had accidentally extracted the wrong hormone from the synthetic Adrenal gland. Adding it to the anti-paralysis Potion had lead to the practice dummy falling asleep instead of regaining muscle function.

He pulled out his Pensieve to delve into his memories and revise the potions he'd learned over the past three years.

[Jessiqua]

57. Goblin
February 20, 2056
Aged: 26 years, 10 months

Down they went, the little cart whizzing through the maze of twisting passages.
"Vault 619," the Goblin Bagnuk said as the cart squealed to a stop.
Art got out and collected a handful of Galleons from his vault. He put a small portion in his pocket, and one Galleon each into three small velvet bags. Each bag had a name on it. Henry, Joshua, and Peter.
"Next stop, Vault 611," Bagnuk drawled.
"It's m-my nephews. Well, G-God-sons. Born yesterday, they were. Little Adrian i-is excited to have cousins finally." If he had photos, he'd have attempted to show them off.

[Jessiqua]

38. Patronus
December 23, 2057
Aged: 28 years, 8 months

Art put a comforting arm around his nephew's shoulder.
"I-it happens." Art nodded expertly. "When you look forward to something for so long, and then it comes an-and goes, you get a bit of-of post-event blues." And having looked forward to his fifth birthday party for so long, it was bound to happen.
"Yeah, I guess" Adrian sighed. He had muggle primary school to look forward to. He sighed again.
"Let me show you something." Art pulled out his wand, showing off his Gorilla patronus. It stomped around for a moment before shoving a giant finger up its own nose.

[Jessiqua]

9. Defense Against the Dark Arts
June 28, 2058
Aged: 29 years, 2 months

Explosions from his cauldron had singed Art's eyebrows off, but he hadn't totally realised. "N-now... now we add the r-rosemary oil." Three precisely drawn up drops were added to the cauldron, which turned a solid grey colour, and the man smiled. To the exact nanometre, a 3.975cm by 1.299cm, by 50mm thick slice of turmeric was added.
"How's it brewing, Newton?" His boss called out.
"N-nearly finished."
"We need to get this done, man. Too many brain injuries from Aurors in training." It was taking up a whole ward of Olaf's.
"D-didn't learn to drop and roll in Defence class."

[Jessiqua]

60. Joke
April 3, 2059
Aged: 30 years

For Whit!

Holding baby Rosalyn in his big arms was a special moment. He had four nephews, but this was his first niece.
"She's a beauty Josephine," he said softly to his sister-in-law. "Looks j-just like me."
Josephine, exhausted from the task of delivering a tiny human into the world, was fast asleep.
"Such a jokester, Uncle Artie," Scott said with a quietly chuckle.
"I wasn't sure it was possible for Newtons to produce females."
"Mmm, me too actually. I think mum and dad were more excited than us." That was understandable, considering their parents raised four sons, and had four grandsons.

[Jessiqua]

81. Depression
January 1, 2060
Aged: 30 years, 9 months

Six months, and Art's grief had not dissipated at all. Waves had continued to hit him throughout the last six months. When he was on his way to work, when he was sleeping, when someone said a joke and he found himself laughing. It was like a weight clamping around his heart and pulling it down. It was like a curtain of black shutting around his entire sense of life. His wife, his best friend, his Danielle, gone in the line of duty.

His mind continuously asked 'what if'; she'd stayed home, she'd looked up a moment quicker, she'd survived.

[Jessiqua]

98. Pajamas
November 8, 2061
Aged: 32 years, 7 months

"B-but S-sir, you ha-have to put on your gown," Art stammered.
"I DON'T WANT TO," the young man bellowed, jumping stark naked out of bed.
The man clearly wasn't in his right mind, suffering an altered mental state from a botched SkeleGrow potion. However, Art was Healer in Charge and he couldn't have a naked man running about the place.
"Petrificus Totalus," he cast. The man's limbs snapped to his body, and he fell backwards onto the carpeted floor. "I d-didn't want to d-do that." And with the man now safely paralysed, Art hastily covered the man in his pyjamas.

[Jessiqua]

35. Pureblood
June 1, 2062
Aged: 33 years, 2 months

"What about a dating site of some kind?"
Art shook his head. "I'm r-really not interested Walt." He wasn't sure why his family were so concerned with him moving on. His wife had only been gone three years.
Mara showed him some magazines she had under her arm. "There's Pureblood Mingle, Which Witch..."
"Great Scott, no," he chuckled. He certainly wouldn't be finding a potential partner in a magazine. "Just... stop. I'm not ready. I'll find someone when the timing is right."
Mara and Walt exchanged a look. They'd only ever dated each other. Some couples weren't so lucky, though.

[Jessiqua]

39. Duel
July 18, 2063
Aged: 34 years, 3 months

"Great Scott, I've done it," he said quietly. He held the glass phial up against the light. His ethical test subject was fine, and had survived Crucio being thrown at it by multiple aurors.

His boss came running towards him, giving the test subject another once over. "Merlin's Beard, he's fine!" Absolutely fine. Nothing wrong with it. No sign of pain, no sign of even a slight tickle.

Art carefully put the phial onto the desk, before sinking to his knees and letting his feelings overcome him.
"Man, you've done it! You've developed our prototype protection potion."

He really had.

[Jessiqua]

61. Kiss
August 15, 2064
Aged: 35 years, 4 months

Art swept his bride into his arms before walking over the threshold into their home. Having lived there together, now, for three months, this was wasn't as big of a gesture as it could have been. But he wished to do something that was part of a tradition, having just been married privately.
"I'm the happiest woman alive," Minnie said, reaching up to kiss her husband.
She wasn't as happy as Art was, though. He would bet all of his potions on that. She too, however, would have bet all of her plants on the fact that she was happier.

[Jessiqua]

93. Chicken
December 24, 2065
Aged: 36 years, 8 months

Knives and forks scraped against the plates as the entire Newton clan sat around enjoying their Christmas dinner.
Minnie's cutlery clattered against the table as the utensils fell from her hands. Her napkined hand covered her mouth for a moment before she shot up from the table, her chair falling behind her. She ran off to the bathroom, leaving everyone else confused.
"I'll go check on her," Art said as he excused himself.
Minnie was retching in the bathroom, and Art knocked quietly.
"I think it's the ch-chi-" she started to say, before retching again.
"Something wrong with the chicken?"

[Jessiqua]

79. Author's Choice (Fatherhood)
July 10, 2066
Aged: 37 years, 3 months

With a heaving push from Minnie, the third and final infant opened its mouth letting a wail escape.
"It's beautiful," Art said, looking down lovingly at his wife.
The healers bundled up the triplets, handing them over to their parents.
"Congratulations, you have two sons and a daughter," the main Healer announced.
"We have our three babies," Minnie said, with one boy under each arm. She bend her head to plant a gentle kiss on each of their foreheads.
Art was speechless as he looked down at his daughter. "Thirty perfect fingers, thirty perfect toes." Perfect, tiny fingers and toes.

[Jessiqua]

4. Ancient Runes
December 24, 2067
38 years, 8 months

Into the fireplace and out of the grate.
"Hello dears," Melissa said, bypassing her son and going straight for her grandchildren, and taking all three of them into her expert arms.
"Great Scott who dressed these poor children?" Walter asked his brother.
"I-I did..." Art sounded rather offended.
"Arty boy, you're truly an anachronism."
Art frowned. "I thought they looked cute."
Everybody looked at the triplets, Josephina in a white dress with poofy sleeves, which appeared to have a petticoat underneath, and the boys in knee-high socks with shorts and a vest.
"They do look cute, darling," Art's mother said.

[Jessiqua]

90. Present
1st June, 2068
39 years, 2 months

He had a moment of sonder as he looked upon the next patient in line. It was an elderly witch. Cynically he had thought perhaps she was there wasting his time. They often seemed to be. But that wasn't fair at all. He wanted to be at home with his family, but perhaps this witch had none. He wanted to end his hard day at work, but perhaps she was poor. He wanted a moment to recharge after so many interactions, but perhaps this was her first interaction of the day. Perhaps the week. Perhaps she needed some friendly company.

[Jessiqua]

49. Yule Ball
18th November, 2069
40 years, 7 months

Art placed the needle onto the record.
"We danced to this song at one of the balls our university held. Where we met."
He turned to his father, who was hastily wiping his eyes.
"Dad," was all he could say.
"She always appreciated a fine tune. She loved the concinnity of the Oslo Philharmonic."
"Well I," he gulped hard. "I think it's an appropriate song for her burial."
His father nodded. "I think so too."
Art felt the heavy waves of grief just as vividly as when he lost Danielle. And now his father was going through the same loss.

[Jessiqua]

84. Angry
24 December, 2070
41 years, 8 months

"It's not the same without them, is it? But.. I suppose life keeps going." Scott paused. His seat was now at the head of the table, as the oldest Newton. "Merry Christmas everyone."
"Merry Christmas," everyone echoed, clinking glasses together.
"I'll carve the turkey." Art took the fork and sliced the pieces thin, just like his father had taught. Just like he had done every year. The fork dropped from his grip, slipping, the knife sliced his hand. "Ugh," he roared, then dropping the knife.
"Art, darling, sit down."
He had his wife. And now his parents, somewhere, were reunited.

[Jessiqua]

2. Muggle Studies
10 September, 2071
42 years, 5 months

"What a year," Danielle said, wiping tears away.
"Mummy sad?" Little Josie asked, wearing her too new and too big uniform.
"No darling, I'm just... suffering from," sniff, "Alexithymia."
Josie frowned as she continued picking invisible lint from her dress. The five-year-old needed everything to be copacetic. Her uniform, her bag, her school books. It was all ready for the triplets first day of school.

Art walked in, ready to drop them off and head for his first day of his chemistry degree at Oxford University.
"My academic," Danielle said, neatening up the lapels of his shirt, and kissed him.

[Jessiqua]

85. Snappish
19th April, 2072
43 years

It was all rather cloying, that Art had to sweet talk his own wife. He simply didn't have room to schedule school meetings, or pickups. What, with his working and studying. Minnie had been very snappy, to the point of walking on eggshells. But the academically raised man couldn't drop out of his studies. And Minnie, deep down, didn't want that.

"D-darling, I can't." Art produced a large chocolate flower bouquet.
Minnie snatched them. "Arthur I am sick of this! When do I get time to myself!?"
"Wh-when I'm... finished."

And with that, the flowers were thrown at his face.

[Jessiqua]

16. Dragonhide gloves
December 5th, 2073
44 years, 8 months

Opening his bag Art immediately realised he'd made a mistake. He knew they were using chemicals that were harmful to the skin. He knew he had to bring his chemical gloves. But what had be brought? His Dragonhide Gloves.

"Sir, I've forgotten my gloves," he said, realising he couldn't put his Dragonhide Gloves on in front of a class of muggles.
After a sigh, the Professor produced an old but still acceptable pair of gloves for Art. "Remember them tomorrow Newton," he said.
Glad he hadn't brought robes or his Spectrespecs, he put on his lab coat and protective goggles.

[Jessiqua]

33. Classroom
November 8th, 2074
45 years, 7 months

In the classroom, with a qualified teacher sitting at the back of the room, Art had a few minutes to put his papers on the desk, write his name on the board, and check the order of the desks.

It was time.

He opened the door, greeting the sixteen-year-old Chemistry students as they entered. They seemed rather well behaved.
"I h-haave s-some chemicals here. W-what w-we're going t-to do t-today is propose an hypothesis, p-predict an outcome, and er... c-carry out your testing." With a nod he gave an example of his own project involving a plant an and ester.

[Jessiqua]

97. Dictionary
September 18th, 2075
46 years, 5 months

"W-w-what do you m-mean you can't do it anymore?"
Minnie sighed. "I just can't take it. There's so much misogyny at work. I don't get any of the cases I want, I'm just cleaning up the safest messes."
"Can you speak to your department head?"
"What part of misogyny don't you understand? Do I need to throw a dictionary at your big man head?" Minnie shrieked.
Art was SHOCKED. He and his wife never yelled at each other.

But to be on the safe side. "Accio dictionary," Art said, his wand firm in his hand. "M...M...M... ah, here we go..."